Blu-ray Review The Frisco Kid Blu ray Review (1 Viewer)

[Christian D66]

THE FRISCO KID is one of those HBO repeaters some recall fondly (I saw ZORRO THE GAY BLADE every showing but I knew it wasn't quite good -- that endeth George Hamilton's film satire career) but I've never been able to sit through it and I worship Wilder. I get interest or nostalgia for TFK over something truly bad like UNDER THE RAINBOW, which I excitedly watched on its HBO premiere and was shocked a Chevy Chase studio comedy could be so bad and unfunny (except for the dog-window scene which is the sole funny moment in the whole thing).

I was a harsh but fair critic in high school: I panned FOOTLOOSE in the school paper to the good natured anger of classmates (they did appreciate that I praised Chris Penn) and thought FLASHDANCE was the first movie I saw in a theater without a plot. It just started and ended. Like a video. I was the only one laughing. Don't get me started on TOP GUN. I always enjoyed John Hughes for coming the closet to my generation and his under-rated meta-style but even in 1986 I thought his films were Nat Lampoon white privilege (my friends groaned when I said I didn't give a shit about a spoiled kid like Ferris with a Synclavier, etc.). But I watched PANDEMONIUM every time on HBO just to laugh at Paul Reubens and some of the dumb gags. So what do I know?

 

[Alan Tully]

Wish ‘Start The Revolution Without Me’ could find its way to a high-def release. Gene Wilder was great in that film

Yup, that's the Wilder I want! It was the first DVD I ever imported (in the old Warner cardboard case), I viewed a couple of weeks ago & enjoyed it just as much as when I first saw it at Christmas time 1970.

Anyway, back to The Frisco Kid which I've never seen or fancied seeing.

 

[benbess]

Matt Hough writes in his perceptive but overall negative review above:

"Gene Wilder affects an odd Yiddish-inspired accented yodel of a voice as Avram, but the character’s timbre isn’t what’s interesting: it’s his warmth, innocence, and eventual savvy that wins over the audience. His stubborn moxie shown throughout his ordeal is alternately off-putting and admirable but inevitably it saves the day (as we rather suspected from the beginning). Harrison Ford in a showy, juicy role modeled after his braggadocios Star Wars Hans Solo triumph hasn’t yet learned to temper his outbursts, but he still has charisma to burn and though clearly supporting Wilder rather than fully co-starring with him, he emerges as one of the movie’s strongest assets. Among the large supporting cast, two performances stand out: Val Bisoglio plays the wily Chief Gray Cloud with a knowing grin and much compassion while William Smith as the toughest of the con men who must face the consequences of his heinous actions shows there is more to him than a brawny physique."

Roger Ebert wrote in his review in 1979: "What's poignant about the film is that Wilder's performance is such a nice one. He's likable, plucky, versatile. He is, in fact, as good an actor here as he's ever been before, and at his own brand of complex vulnerability Gene Wilder has never been surpassed."

I hesitate to say that I've enjoyed this picture over the years, after reading the negative views expressed in this thread, but I have. As usual with a Warner Archive disc, the picture quality is sometimes a revelation, with a few close-ups of Wilder revealing his green-blue eyes like I've never seen them before. This movie has bits of goofy humor throughout, some working better than others, but the touching friendship between this mismatched pair somehow works for me.

Matt Hough's review above rates this movie 2.5 out of 5, which is one of the lowest ratings he's ever given iirc. At Amazon the average from hundreds of ratings is a seemingly too high 4.7 out of 5. My rating on a letter grade scale would probably be a B+. A good musical score that's alternately comic, whimsical, and dramatic is provided by that old pro Frank De Vol, whose career stretches back to doing the unusual music for Nat King Cole's surprise hit "Nature Boy" in 1948.

 

[Sam Favate]

I finally watched this blu-ray. It looks amazing, probably the best I have ever seen it look. The movie itself needed a better script. The rabbi stuff is endearing and there is a good story in there, but much of the humor is obvious and some of it stereotypical. It's nice to see a young Harrison Ford as a cowboy, but this is far from Ford's best performance. Hard to believe that a mere two years later he'd be Indiana Jones, and his leading man status secured for all time. I love a good Gene Wilder movie, and I'll watch him in anything, but he's only as good as the script lets him be. The obvious comparison here is to Wilder's Blazing Saddles. Maybe Mel Brooks is what this film needed.